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Move to rope in NGOs for curbing foeticide
Appointment of Chief Engineer comes under scanner
high
court
Family of ’84 victim still awaits relief
Railway job scam: DSPs
denied bail
Hooda remembers his days at school
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UHBVN told to pay Rs 2.68 lakh to consumer
Councillors seek meeting
on Minerva complex issue
AIEEE: 45 students to get free coaching
INLD lambasts Hooda govt
Wife, in-laws held for man’s death
Life term for rapist
Haryana to have 12 new bus stands
Launch of Volvo bus put off again
Jansui-Jagadhari road to be widened
Kapal Mochan Mela begins today
DC wants compliance of courtesy norms
Rly staff union demands high school
Science expo concludes
Rally by NCC cadets
RKSD College bags overall trophy
Two youths killed in mishap
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Move to rope in NGOs for curbing foeticide
Sirsa, November 1 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr V.Umashankar, told The Tribune here yesterday that at a recent meeting, the NGOs had been exhorted to adopt three to five villages to create awareness about the implications of female foeticide so as to discourage the practice. The district authorities had identified 98 villages for the drive, he added. “So far, as many as 80 villages of the district have been assigned to various organisations to create awareness and build a mass opinion against female foeticide,” he said. The NGOs showing outstanding results in improving the sex ratio in a
calendar year, would be rewarded with a cash incentive of Rs 1 lakh. The panchayats of the villages showing good results would also get a grant of Rs 1 lakh for development. Presenting the figures of sex ratio, the Deputy Commissioner said in 2001, there were 861 women for 1,000 men in the district. He said the sex ratio was 814:1000 in the age group of 0-6 years, which was a cause of concern. The sex ratio had come to 805:1000 in 2005, though the latest figures pertaining to September, 2006, were a bit encouraging at 823:1000. “Still, a lot more needs to be done to eradicate the illegal practice and social evil of female foeticide,” Mr Umashankar said. He observed that a social campaign needed to be launched to curb the practice and added that the voluntary social
organisations could play a crucial role in making it a mass movement. The Deputy Commissioner said the members of the social organisations adopting the villages would keep an eye on the pregnant women in their respective areas and motivate them against indulging in the crime. The local chapter of the Indian Medical Association has extended full support to the district administration’s campaign. Several other NGOs have also pledged to contribute their mite for the noble cause. |
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Appointment of Chief Engineer comes under scanner
Chandigarh, November 1 In September, Mr Gupta had been selected for appointment as Chief Engineer of the Haryana Housing Board after his retirement in violation of the rules. But this was not approved by the Haryana Housing Minister, Mrs Savitri Jindal. Once The Tribune highlighted the appointment, the Administrator, Haryana Housing Board, Mr Ashok Khemka, also put up a dissenting note, thereby canceling the selection made by an expert committee. For the second time, Mr Gupta’s name has been cleared for appointment as Chief Engineer, albeit in a different department, the HSIIDC, where the matter was decided at the meeting of the BOD last week. But the minutes of the BOD meeting are yet to be sent to the Chief Minister for approval. The normal procedure for filling any post in a government department is to promote a staff member and if unavailable, seek an officer on deputation from another department. But if no suitable officer is available, the post is advertised after seeking the permission of the government and only then is a suitable candidate selected. But appointing a retired person bypassing the norms is considered to be highly irregular, especially when it is done without seeking the prior approval of the government. It is learnt that certain bureaucrats who tried to re-employ Mr Gupta earlier are behind his rehabilitation move now. Recently, the Chief Minister had approved the promotion of six Haryana Superintending Engineers (SEs) for appointment as Chief Engineers in various departments and institutions. The HSIIDC was to get a Chief Engineer from among one of these six promoted officers, but to scuttle that, Mr Gupta’s appointment was approved by the BOD. This action is in violation of the orders of the Chief Minister, who wanted to appoint a promoted officer from the PWD (B&R). Besides several important projects, the Chief Engineer of the HSIIDC is likely to supervise the building of the Rs 1,600 crore Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. Several posts of Chief Engineer are waiting to be filled in the state. Institutions like Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED) and the HSIIDC have been requesting the Haryana Government to fill posts of engineer. The recent promotion of the six SEs was aimed at filling some of these posts, including that in the HSIIDC. Prior to Mr Gupta’s retirement in August, the Haryana Engineer-in-Chief, Mr R. R. Sheoran, had reportedly withdrawn certain work from Mr Gupta following a controversy involving him and some private contracting firms.
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high court
Chandigarh, November 1 In his petition, Mr Chautala has prayed that the SEZ policy be set aside as it was unconstitutional and would assist big industrial houses to take farmer for a ride with the active assistance of the respective state governments. Today, the Division Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar issued notice to the respondents, including the Government of India and the Haryana Government, for February 5, 2007. Meanwhile, the court also adjourned to December 18 the petition filed by Punjab Kisan Sabha general secretary Bhupinder Sambhar, through which he has challenged the authority of the Punjab Government to hand over panchayat lands for the purpose of setting up a SEZ.
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Family of ’84 victim still awaits relief
Hisar, November 1 Due to this seemingly innocuous error, Pratap Singh, who is nearly 80 and a heart patient, has been making rounds of government offices for the past 22 years for compensation, but to no avail. Incidentally, today is the anniversary of Satnam Singh’s death as well as the anti-Sikh violence of 1984. His efforts notwithstanding, the hapless father of the victim has not got any relief till date. Government apathy, coupled with adverse circumstances, have hit Mr Pratap Singh and his family hard. Now, they have no regular source of income and find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. “I have not got even a single penny from the government till date...on the other hand, many people have got He, however, maintains recently he was called to Delhi to present his case before a senior official of the department concerned. Narrating his tale of woes to this correspondent, the elderly resident fondly remembers Satnam, who worked as an auto mechanic, as the brightest of his sons. He was killed when he was just around 22. Of the remaining two sons, the younger is mentally challenged and the elder works as a carpenter. Mr Pratap Singh’s wife Surjeet Kaur is afflicted with lung cancer and is struggling for life. His daughter, had too, returned to her parents some time after her marriage. He himself has been undergoing treatment for heart ailment. His elder son Komal Singh has three daughters and a son. Komal’s wife stitches clothes to earn some money. So pitiable is the family’s condition that they cannot afford to go for medical check-up or treatment for want of money. As of now, their medical expenses are being taken care of by some relatives, well-wishers and a local heart surgeon. However, owing to self-respect, Mr Pratap Singh does not accept financial aid. His only hope is that the Almighty will set things right some day Amen. |
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Railway job scam: DSPs
denied bail
Ambala, November 1 On the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the CBI had registered a case against these police officers in the Railway Police recruitment scam. The then SP, Railway Police, Ravi Azad was also booked by the CBI. Uday Shankar and Arun Moudgil were the members of the recruitment committee while Azad was the chairman of the committee. Two weeks back, the CBI had arrested Azad and Uday Shankar and they were remanded in judicial custody by a local court. Mr Moudgil had not appeared before the CBI so far.
— OC |
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Hooda remembers his days at school
Chandigarh, November 1 Mr Hooda was reminiscing about his days in school on the occasion of the award-giving ceremony to outstanding teachers of the state here today. The Chief Minister said when he was a boarder at Sainik School, Kunjpura, he was caught doing some mischief. The Chief Minister did not elaborate, but said it got him punishment from a teacher in the form of a tight slap. “The slap was a turning point in my life. Probably I could become a Chief Minister later because of the punishment by the teacher on that particular day”, he said. The Chief Minister said like it happened to him, teachers were always changing the lives of their students for the better. The beauty of the teacher-student relationship, he said, was that a teacher never felt jealous of his students’ success. Thus, the relationship could be compared only to that between a father and son. The purpose of education was to help a person not only to get a job but also to imbibe in him values and make him a decent human being, Mr Hooda said. He said a farmer or a housewife needed education no less than a professional or someone employed with the government. Mr Hooda said 25 per cent of the seats would be reserved for Haryana domicile students in various institutions in the proposed education city near Sonepat. While 5 per cent of these students would get education free of cost, the remaining Haryana students would get a discount of up to 50 per cent in the cost of education. Thirty-nine teachers were given awards at the ceremony held at the Haryana Raj Bhavan auditorium. The teachers were given Rs 11,000 in cash, a shawl, a citation, out-of-turn increments and two year’s extension in service. What, however, got the maximum applause from the assembled teachers and their family members was the Chief Minister’s announcement that the teachers honoured would be offered postings of their choice. Earlier, the Education Minister, Mr Phool Chand Mullana, in his address urged the Chief Minister to grant the teachers postings they would like for themselves. “Mr Mullana has pulled a fast one. We had already decided to give choice postings to the awardees. The Education Minister wanted to make it public before I did”, the Chief Minister said. The Education Minister said no gift was greater than the imparting of education. The Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai, said the tradition of education in India was older than any other civilisation. He mentioned the announcement made by the Chief Minister regarding the posting of teachers and said the awardees should not take recourse to home postings and a laid-back life by taking advantage of the Chief Minister’s offer.
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UHBVN told to pay Rs 2.68 lakh to consumer
Yamunanagar, November 1 The shop of Mr Vivek Mittal, Civil Lines, Jagadhri, had caught fire on July 5, 2003. In his complaint before the forum his counsel had argued that the fire took place because of high voltage in the main power supply line and subsequently the power meter and wire caught fire, destroying the stationery, photostat machine and other goods lying in the shop. The police was informed about the incident. A Tehsildar was deputed by the Executive Officer of the MC who inspected the site. The counsel said that no officials of the UHBVN visited the site. The complainant had to approach the Deputy Commissioner’s “khula darbar” to get a re-connection of power to the shop. The Tehsildar had estimated a loss of Rs 2,68,100. However, the complainant said that he suffered a loss of Rs 4 lakh and also demanded Rs 1.50 lakh as compensation for mental agony and harassment and Rs 50,000 on account of loss of business. The counsel for the UHBVN argued that the fire did not take place due to high voltage and fire took place because of reasons best known to the complainant. The counsel argued that no other damage due to high voltage was reported in the area. The counsel further said that the local commissioner appointed by the forum had got no technical knowledge so the commissioner’s report in the matter was not tenable and was liable to be rejected. The president of the forum, Mr Subhash Walia, after hearing the two sides, admitted the complaint and ordered the UHBVN to pay Rs 2,68,100 on account of loss caused to the complainant due to negligent act of the UHBVN along with 12 per cent interest within three months from the incident. The forum also asked the UHBVN to Rs 20,000 as compensation for causing mental agony, harassment and litigation expenses.
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Councillors seek meeting
on Minerva complex issue
Ambala, November 1 As many as 11 Municipal Councillors belonging to the Vikas Parishad and the Sangharsh Vahini have written a letter to the Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, seeking a special meeting to deliberate upon the various issues pertaining to the Minerva complex in Rai Market here. In the letter they have stated that the Minerva complex constructed at survey no. 178, building no. 180-181/1-13 was given on a 30-year lease on April 1, 1946. The lease agreement was as per the Cantonment Board schedule VIII. Thereafter, in 1977, the rights of the excised area were transferred from the Government of India to the Haryana Government. The Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, had then extended the lease till March 31, 2006. The letter further states that the permission was granted in 2001 to carry out construction on 959 square-yard area. It was mentioned that in case there was excess construction than the approved covered area and also if the height of the building was increased, the plan would stand annulled. The Municipal Councillors have claimed that 448 square yard excess area has been covered and the height of the building has increased to more than the prescribed height. They said these were clear violations of the building plan. The Municipal Councillors have stated that in the building only a cinema hall, skating rink, coffee shop, dance hall and billiards room could be constructed. The lease agreement stated that if any other work was carried out, then the lease agreement would be cancelled. They said the lease agreement was violated and a commercial complex had now been established which was against the agreement of the lease. They said while the Municipal Council was gaining only Rs 291 per year as rent, the commercial complex was generating revenue worth lakhs of rupees per month. They said it was necessary for calling a special meeting so that such issues regarding the complex could be discussed. |
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AIEEE: 45 students to get free coaching
Chandigarh, November 1 Mr Mullana said this coaching course would be provided under the AIEEE coaching programme being broadcast through the EDUSAT system. The trust would provide free board and lodging for 40 days to these students. Dr Ashok Chitkara, Chairman of the trust, said the trust would, if required, also arrange financial assistance for the students for admission if they were selected to an engineering college in the region.
— TNS |
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INLD lambasts Hooda govt
Ambala, November 1 He said the SYL canal should have become functional by now since there was the Congress governments in Haryana, Punjab and at the Centre. “When the Congress government is at the three places, then why cannot the SYL canal become functional,” he said. Mr Arora said there was erratic power supply in the state and farmers were facing problems. He said though the Hooda government was claiming to favour farmers, a farmer in his suicide note had alleged harassment by a Congress MLA. He said they were going to take up the SEZ issue and a delegation would meet the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He said the SEZ had caused immense loss to the agricultural sector and farmers have lost their land worth crores.
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Wife, in-laws held for man’s death
Rewari, November 1 It is stated that Sneh Lata Yadav daughter of Ram Kishan Yadav of Bhakli village, who was married to Kuldeep Yadav of Koyalpur village of Jhajjar district on May 13, had been living at her parental house at Bhakli for the past some time owing to strained relations with her husband. It is further stated that when Kuldeep Yadav, after his first rapprochement bid on October 17 went abortive owing to his in-law’s stubborn attitude , came to Bhakli again on October 27 to take his wife Snehlata to Koyalpur, he was allegedly forced to consume poison which resulted in his death. However, Dharambir, a cousin of the deceased, made a complaint alleging that Kuldeep Yadav was poisoned to death by his in-laws following which the Kosli police registered a case of murder under Sections 302, 34 of the IPC against his wife Snehlata Yadav, father-in-law Ram Kishan Yadav and mother-in-law Ram Rati Yadav. But after investigation the police came to the conclusion that the complainant's allegation was untenable and Kuldeep Yadav was forced to end his life by consuming poison by his in-laws, Section 302 of murder has now been replaced by Section 306 of the abetment to suicide in the FIR following which the accused were arrested yesterday.
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Life term for rapist
Kaithal, November 1 The SSP, Mr Navdeep Singh Virk, said here today that the accused, his wife and the victim used to go to a religious dera at Sirsa . On August, 2004, the accused, his wife and Ram Mehar, a minor, called the victim from her school on the pretext of taking her to satsang but instead took her to Shimla in a vehicle. The wife of the accused returned from Kalka and he raped the girl at Kalka and later in Shimla. The girl was recovered from near Kotra minor near Bhana village on August 11 where she was dropped by the accused. In her statement to the police, the victim said she got acquainted with the accused as he used to visit their house and later he used to teach her. They also used to go to attend satsang at Sirsa dera . One day the accused called her to his place and raped her when his wife left the house on some pretext . This time Banarsi told her that that the satsang would be held at Shimla and took her in a vehicle. After keeping her in their company for a couple of days they brought her to Bhana and dropped her at Kotra minor . On the statement of the girl the police booked Banarsi, his wife Indira and Ram Mehar under Sections 376, 506 and 120-B of the IPC. The three were arrested by the police and put on trial. The ADJ, after hearing arguments put of the prosecution and the defence held Banarsi guilty of rape and held Indira guilty of abetting the accused in committing the crime.
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Haryana to have 12 new bus stands
Panchkula, November 1 Disclosing that new bus stands were coming up at Kaithal, Kalayat, Dhand, Hathin, Palwal and Narnaul, the Haryana Transport Minister, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, said an extension of the existing bus stand at Rohtak was also on the cards. He was speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating the bus stand in Sector 5, renovated at a cost of Rs 40 lakh under the department’s on-going renovation programme of all bus stands on the occasion of Haryana Day here today. He also announced that night bus service would now be available between Panchkula and Delhi on public demand. He said while the existing bus stand At Ambala City would be replaced with a new bus stand, construction of four more bus stands would be undertaken at Sadhora, Chachroli, Shehzadpur and Karnal (Sector 12) and Ambala City also for which the process of land acquisition was already on. “In the second phase we will target construction of bus stands at Nangal Chaudhary, Farookhnagar, Jhajjar (Sector 6), Faridabad and Gurgaon (Rajiv Chowk). We have also finalised opening of three driving schools and have identified two partners, Maruti Udhyog and Ashok Leyland, for the same. While Maruti will open its training centres at Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, Ashok Leyland will open a driving school at Kaithal. We will give them land and they will undertake construction and provide expertise,” he explained. Maintaining that the department was alive to the need of running a city bus service scheme to provide public transport facility in fast-growing cities, Mr Surjewala said a proposal for 12 cities was already under consideration. “Similar proposals have been made twice previously but have got entangled in legal battles. We are having our proposal examined so that it takes off once it is announced,” he stated. Stating that the government was working on a proposal to introduce Smart cards for registration of vehicles and driving licences which would be outsourced completely, he added that the department was conscious about the Supreme Court’s directions regarding security number plates and working on it. “Haryana will not lag behind when the map of the transport departments all around is undergoing a change,” the Minister remarked. He said the Transport Department had bought 150 CNG buses and 200 ordinary buses in 2005-2006 while work was afoot to purchase 565 buses,” he mentioned.
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Launch of Volvo bus put off again
Yamunanagar, November 1 However, no official reason has been given why the bus did not start from today. Earlier, the bus service had to start from October 2 but it was later postponed for today. The General Manager of Haryana Roadways here was not available for comments. Haryana Roadways has plied several special buses of four depots to the mela venue. The unions have threatened that they would not let the Volvo bus run. The employees had gone on a three-day strike and bus service was crippled when the department had started a Volvo bus service from Hisar. |
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Jansui-Jagadhari road to be widened
Ambala, November 1 Kumari Selja said the project for widening and strengthening of the Ambala-Jagadhari and Ambala-Hisar roads would prove to be a boon for the transportation sector. She said Rs 5 crore had been received from the Centre for the completion of the irrigation scheme in the Ambala parliamentary constituency. She said more funds would be made available for the improvement in the supply of electricity. Three new substations had been built and three more were in the pipeline. Memorandums had been signed with the state governments of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand in this regard. Kumari Selja said the state and Central Governments were committed to removing poverty by providing jobs to the rural poor. Later, under the Swaran Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, Kumari Selja distributed 160 sewing machines, 260 beauty parlour kits and 50 bicycles under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan scheme, besides scholarships to 15 students and cheques worth Rs 2.76 crore under the National Horticulture Mission. Naggal MLA Nirmal Singh said work on the Dadupur-Nalvi canal project had been started and the project for canal from Hathnikund to Shahzadpur would be started very soon. He said the road from Mithapur to Kesari would also be widened.
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Kapal Mochan Mela begins today
Yamunanagar, November 1 The mela, to be held over 100 acres, has been divided into four sectors and a magistrate has been deputed in each sector, besides setting up of a police post. Close-circuit cameras have been installed all over. The Health Department has been asked to take appropriate steps to check any possible outbreak of a disease as more than eight lakh pilgrims are expected at the mela. A special parking lot has been carved out on 13 acres. Senior officials of the district administration, including the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, inspected the arrangements. Meanwhile, pilgrims have already started reaching the mela venue in trucks, tractor-trailers and buses. Sources in the administration claimed more than 50,000 pilgrims had reached. The Commissioner (Ambala Range), Dr Mahabir Singh, would formally declare the mela open tomorrow. |
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DC wants compliance of courtesy norms
Ambala, November 1 Any violation of the guidelines would be viewed seriously. He said the guidelines were brought to the notice of all training institutes, training schools, academics etc of police officials as well as the officials of all other departments of the state government and the employees/officers undergoing training for the strict compliance.
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Rly staff union demands high school
Ambala, November 1 The union has demanded that there should be a safe path from old Railway Colony to the city area. “This issue has been highlighted many a times since the division came into being but nothing has been done so far,” the memorandum stated. They demanded that a high school must be opened at Ambala Cantt by the Railways. There used to 10 schools earlier in the division but all were closed. As of now, there was no school run by the Railway in this division. The union sought the provision of railway canteen for the staff at carriage and wagon department. They pointed out that the shortage of the electrical staff and the disparity of grades between the enquiry and reservation clerks and booking clerks. They demanded that certain trains might be provided a halt near the DRM office. The memorandum states that modern technique must be used for eye operation at the Railway Hospital and the condition of the Railway Hospital at Kalka is deteriorating.
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Science expo concludes
Ambala, November 1 The District Education Officer, Ambala, Mr Zile Singh, was the chief guest on this occasion. The energy model of Shaweta Sharma, a student of Government High School, Prem Nagar, was declared the best. The traffic and communication model of the Government High
School, Shedjadpur, got the first position in the exhibition. Similarly, the model of Sohan Lal DAV School was recommended in environment. |
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Rally by NCC cadets
Ambala, November 1 The rally was flagged off by Squadron Leader Nitin Kanwar from Farookha Khalsa School and the rally passed through different areas, including Sadar Bazar, Halwai Bazar, Bartan Bazar, Sarafa Bazar, Subzi Mandi, before culminating at SD School. The NCC cadets carried placards against foeticide, saving environment, and condemned dowry and stoppage of child labour. The NCC cadets were from different schools of Ambala Cantt. Squadron Kanwar said the students were the future of the nation and the awareness generated by the rally would go a long way towards nation building. |
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RKSD College bags overall trophy
Kurukshetra, November 1 Prof R.P. Hooda, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, was the chief guest. He gave away prizes to the winners and called upon the students that their aim should be high in life and they should work hard to achieve the same. Earlier, former Union Minister Prof Sher Singh inaugurated the festival here on Saturday.
— OC |
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Two youths killed in mishap
Fatehabad, November 1 According to reports, Pawan Kumar (24) along with his brother-in-law Billoo (24) was going to Mochi village. When they reached near the bus stand of Chobara village, Billoo, who was driving the bike, lost control over the motor cycle and it collided with a private bus coming from the opposite direction. Billoo died on the spot while Pawan Kumar, who was rushed to the Community Health Centre, Bhuna, succumbed to his injuries.
— OC |
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